Stu's Blog.
Friday 2nd September. Ardnamurchen Lighthouse to Fort William. The day started grey and damp. After a hearty breakfast where Drew, Jenny and Mikie P had sensible food and Stephen and I opted for the Breakfast of Champions aka A Full Scottish we departed to the starting point of our journey, The Lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly point of the Scottish and indeed British Mainland. The road ahead was very undulating with sharp uphills and disappointing downhills....... for 30 miles. The sun was now shining though and the scenery was spectacular. I soon realised that the afore mentioned Breakfast of Champions wasn't living up to its reputation as cramp plagued me on the big climbs. We eventually stopped for lunch in Strontian, of a huge slab of quiche before heading off again with renewed vigour. We had 35 miles to cover in 3 hours or otherwise we would miss our ferry to Fort William. We needn't of worried. We arrived at the "dock" half an hour early and waited patiently for the World's Smallest Ferry to arrive. It duly did and 10 minutes later we were experiencing Fort William.... at rush-hour.....on a Friday....in the rain. A short cycle to our campsite for the night followed. Stephen then managed to destroy the only zip on his tent forcing me to offer him to share mine. Ace!!! A great meal and a couple of pints at The Lochy followed, before retiring for the night looking forward to tomorrows stage. PS Stephen has had a curry and 3 pints of Guineas so if I survive the night it will be a miracle. Stu.
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Jennys blog day 1
Lovely breakfast at the campsites but feeling rather apprehensive now I've seen what we have to cycle today. Tents down rather soggy.... Arrived at the lighthouse tad windy but pics taken n off we go !!!! The 1st 20 miles were rather arduous , up n down on single track roads Quick bite to eat for lunch, lovely homemade broccoli quiche as we had to push on to catch the ferry a cross to Fort William. Today we have met lots of " strange looking sheep" though they were very friendly n didn't bat an eye while we cycled past. The most impressive thing today was the outstanding beautiful Scottish country side that we seen along the way. Absolutely breathtaking, even in the rain! Stayed dry up till then then the heavens opened n we got a soaking.... Tents up , showered ( bliss) Then out for tea was a tad sleepy ...... wonder what tomorrow will bring Booth: The day before the start of cycling.... An uneventful start. Jenny tried to steal the front seat despite a clear shotgun shout from me who, as the biggest deserved it anyway. Great service at the subway in aviemore. Weegies just dont do US style hospitality. Further stops at Fort William at the Lochaber Cafe for coffee and bun was fab. Nice to see Brian, Vikki's cousin and owner and we had a fine piece!.
A stop in Glenfinnan continued the fun until the scary single track run with Mark H taking on the world. Had to stop twice to check bikes still attached. Road tomorrow looks pretty hilly and Mark H taking us out to the lighthouse after breakfast. Me, Stuart and Mark on the full Scottish. Jenny and Mikie on the scrambled egg and bacon and Nobby looking totally unprepared on porridge and fruit. We went to the campsite restaurant on evening for nosh. Bar food was great served by really nice new zealand lad who finishes up today to continue his travels. Lots of chat on kiwi coffee and breakfasts, his mental health, rest of his trip and what to do in the middle of nowhere. Food was great. Free campsite not so. It s a bit of an old quarry. Half way up the hill. Feels a bit exposed. Rocky. Nae grass windy and wet. Easy compared to the Japan boys but still not the best. All away to bed at 9:30 to weigh down the tents! Blog by Stu.
Thursday 1st Sept. It's amazing the amount of stuff that a Volvo can absorb. 6 people and 6 lots of cycling and camping gear with 5 bikes perched on the outside. Despite that a relatively comfortable couple of hours found us in Aviemore for lunch. The delights of Subway were consumed before we shoehorned ourselves back into the Swedish behemoth and onward to Fort William for coffee and cake. Another stop 20 minutes later for a few photos at Glenfinnan and then onto the final stretch of our journey to Ardnamurchan. The road along with the weather became a lot more interesting. A strong wind and driving rain combined with single track winding, undulating road seemed to fuel Marks inner desire to be a rally driver. Despite this, we arrived safe and sound at our final destination shortly after 5pm and quickly set about pitching our tents, in the rain, on rocky ground that was covered in sheep shit. The hotel next door provided an excellent evening meal and a few beers. After thrashing Stephen at pool it was time to retire to our tents and try and get some sleep as the wind and rain continued. It'll all have blown over by morning. Hopefully!! |
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